The Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico issued a qualified opinion on the fiscal operations of the Municipality of Aguadilla. A qualified opinion is issued when the instances of noncompliance, individually or in the aggregate, are significant but not pervasive.
The Report reveals that the Municipality invested $45,840 in internet and telephone services for the Aguadilla Ice Skating, Aguadilla Memorial Park, and for the Urbano Histórico Pueblo Cemetery, without use. However, the skating rink had been closed since the passage of Hurricane María in 2017, and the administrators of the cemeteries indicated that they had not had these services since January 2017, but rather used their personal telephones to communicate.
The directors of the Office of Information Technology (OTI) and the acting special assistants did not verify the availability of the services since, from 2018 to 2021, they requested and recommended amendments to the contract for the internet and telephone services to extend its term. The Report recommends, to the mayor, among others, that he ensure that the administrator complies with the adequate supervision of the OTI director, and that the resources be used diligently for the benefit of the public interest.
The two-finding audit notes that, from the examination of a sample of the 89 credit transfers for $1,413,094 between budget items, made from July 14 to December 17, 2020, neither executive orders nor surplus certifications were issued in any of the transactions. This situation, contrary to the law and the regulations in force, prevented the Legislature and the Office of Municipal Management from being aware of the fiscal transactions.
The Report comments that, as of December 31, 2020, 10 civil lawsuits filed against the Municipality for $1,380,348 were pending resolution in the courts. In addition, a case of an employee, without a monetary amount, was pending resolution before the Public Service Appeals Commission.
This first report on Aguadilla covers the period from July 1, 2017 to December 31, 2020.
See Audit Report M-22-33.
To see other published reports, visit our Audit Reports section.
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